nefarious

(nə-fâr'ē-əs)
adj.
Infamous by way of being extremely wicked.

[Latin nefārius, from nefās, crime, transgression : ne-, not + fās, divine law.]

nefariously ne·far'i·ous·ly adv.
nefariousness ne·far'i·ous·ness n.

View more Literature & Language videos

In an ironic twist, contemporary Germans have been rejecting the Nazi legacy by lowering their birthrates (the Nazis had awarded women who bore numerous children a Cross of Honor and a certificate signed by Hitler, while exterminating millions of Jews and other "undesirables"):

"The number of Germans has declined by 3.2 million — the population of Berlin — over the last 30 years but demographers' concerns have mostly been ignored until now in a country scarred by the Nazis' nefarious procreation pressures."

Link: German leaders wake up to shrinking population

Posted January 26, 2006.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

adjective

So objectionable as to elicit despisal or deserve condemnation: abhorrent, abominable, antipathetic, contemptible, despicable, despisable, detestable, disgusting, filthy, foul, infamous, loathsome, lousy, low, mean², nasty, obnoxious, odious, repugnant, rotten, shabby, vile, wretched. See good/bad.

adj

Definition: bad, sinful
Antonyms: admirable, good, honorable, respectable, virtuous, worthy

IN BRIEF: Very wicked.

A crowd gathered around the wanted poster of the nefarious criminal.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

For a list of words related to nefarious, see:

• Bad, False, Evil, Insincere, or Dishonest

---

See words rhyming with "nefarious."

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - skændig, nedrig, gudløs

Nederlands (Dutch)
snood, goddeloos

Français (French)
adj. - abominable

Deutsch (German)
adj. - ruchlos

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - κακός, κακόβουλος

Italiano (Italian)
nefasto

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - nefando

Русский (Russian)
злодейский

Español (Spanish)
adj. - vil, malvado

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - skändlig, nedrig, gudlös

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
邪恶的, 穷凶极恶的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 邪惡的, 窮兇極惡的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 극악한, 버릇없는

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 不法な, 不埒な, 邪悪な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) شرير, شائن‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮רע, נבזה, נפשע‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.